Who Lives, Who Dies
by Rowanclaw24
Summary: Just a quick sob-inducer. My take on the Lauren's Interlude, a heartbreaking song that was cut from the final musical. I wrote this after watching szin's Laurens Interlude Hamilton Animatic, one of the best animatics I've seen. Charecters & inspiration belong to szin and Lin-Manuel Miranda. One-shot. UPDATED


I didn't hear it at first, I didn't see it, I didn't feel it. But it happened, now, what happened, well, at first I wasn't quite sure what happened, but I immediately fell off my stallion to a bed of flowers below me. I heard muffled shouts, screams, screeches, and gunshots ringing through my ears, the flash of my horse's black fur, the small swarm of friends and enemies looking down at me.

And then I realized that I was sitting in a pool of my own blood.

Even the thought of that was revolting. I was slipping away faster than I could think. I realized that I was laughing, even though this wasn't in any way, shape, or from a funny event. The muffled screams of my regument, the thunder of boots around my head- I just blocked that all out. I saw Alex, Eliza, the Set- all of the great times- but before I could really relish in those memories, everything was gone.

And in the black nothingness, I knew that I was still here- not an immediate way, but I still exist. Seconds passed like an eternity, but what might have been a lifetime passed in a blink. And when I thought of nothing else to say, I sung. I sung that old tune that I sung with the Set- after Alex's wedding, before we were all drafted in the war.

I may not live to see our glory….  
I found myself in a small office as my voice rang out in the darkness. Alex was sitting at his desk, writing something, and Eliza was standing at the doorway with a letter.

"Alexander, there's a letter for you- from South Carolina!"

But I will gladly join the fight!

"Oh, it's from John Laurens, I'll read it later." Alex turned back around to his desk with a flick of his hand

"No, Alex, it's not." He turns around to Eliza again but I can see his face falling a bit.

And when our children tell our story…

"Um, will you read it?"

They'll tell the story of tonight.

I stride across the room to little Philip Hamilton, only a tiny infant. I pull back tiny strands of curly hair to reveal a face or freckles. This innocent little human- only maybe six months old- I made a decision right then and there that I was going to keep this human being safe from all of the horror that the world has to offer.

Eliza takes a deep breath and opens the letter. "On Tuesday the Twenty-seventh, Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens was killed in a gunfight-" So, I'm dead. That clears some things up.

I can hear Alex's breath catch in his throat as Eliza breathes out the next words. "-against British troops in South Carolina."

A choked sound comes from Alexander's throat, his eyes wide. A single tear slips down Eliza's cheek to the letter parchment. "These troops had not yet received word from Yorktown that the war was over. He is buried here until his family can send for his remains," Eliza gasps.

Alex looks past me with blank, glossy eyes.

"As you may know, Lieutenant Colonel Laurens was engaged in recruiting three thousand men for the first all-black military regiment." Eliza paused. "The surviving members of this regiment have been returned to their masters." No. That can't be. That just can't be. They let me in. They let me make a difference, they let me lead- I fought for a place where even me- a little kid from a slaving family- could help the Revolution, to lead the first all-black battalion! But this isn't about me, this is about the human beings that I helped- the ones who I gave a life to, the ones who made a difference!

Tomorrow there'll be more of us!

Alexander lets out a stifled sob, but just stares past Eliza during a fragile moment of silence.

"Alexander, are you alright?" I breathe. He says nothing. His gaze sweeps the room, and for a brief second, I think he sees me.

"I have so much work to do!" No, Alex, you don't! Take care of yourself and put that quill down right this instant!

But he doesn't, because he is Alexander Hamilton, who always has something else on his mind, something else to write, another idea that can't slip away.

My first real Hamiltrash. The sound of my heart breaking.  
I have a Hamilton college AU in progress, but I'm not sure if I'll post it or not. Also, I have a great Laurens/Philip idea (no, not shipping them) that I got while writing this.

Have a nice day and remember-

We chase the melodies that seem to find us  
Until they are finished songs and start to play  
When senseless acts of tragety  
Remind us  
That nothing here is promised,  
Not one day,  
This show is proof  
That history remembers  
Through times  
When hate and fear seem stronger.  
We rise and fall  
And light from dying embers,  
Rememberences  
That hope and love last longer.  
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love  
Cannot be killed or swept aside!  
I sing Vanessa's symphony,  
Eliza tells her story.  
Now, fill the world with music, love, and kindness and pride.

-Lin-Manuel-Miranda


End file.
